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Credit: UniversalEpic Universe finally released an in-depth look at what fans can expect when the park opens next summer, and the internet hasn’t been able to stop talking about it. The video confirmed four previously rumored areas – How To Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, a Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion, and Dark Universe, featuring the Universal Classic Monsters – as well as announced a fifth area, Celestial Park. While fans are still digesting all the information given, one reveal seems to confirm Universal is planning to reboot its classic monsters.
With the newly dedicated Dark Universe area, Universal will finally put the spotlight back on the monsters that made it famous in the first place almost a century ago. The classic monsters, including Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy, Phantom of the Opera, Invisible Man, and Creature From the Black Lagoon, have been a feature of Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights event for the last several years, creating rumors that Universal was planning on doing more with them after years of neglect.
It was announced a few years ago that legendary director Guillermo del Toro would be making a Frankenstein reboot that is now confirmed to be starring Jacob Elordi (who replaced Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield as the monster), Marvel and Star Wars star Oscar Isaac, and Mia Goth, and has just recently started production. However, with Universal now announcing its “Dark Universe” and dedicating an entire area of its newest park to the monsters, it seems to imply that more reboots may be on the way.
The 1999 version of The Mummy, starring Brendan Fraser, is perhaps still one of the most iconic films released in the last 30 years. The film inspired a dark ride at Universal Orlando and made Fraser a household name. In 2017, a reboot was released starring Tom Cruise, which was Universal’s initial attempt at a cinematic Dark Universe, which would have seen the studio reboot its monster films, but the film performed so poorly that the entire idea was scrapped. With Universal Orlando getting a Dark Universe area, along with the release of newly imagined images of Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Dracula, it may be the perfect time for the studio to revisit the concept.
Several major studios have started to create their own cinematic universes inspired by Marvel, including the DC Universe, Nintendo Cinematic Universe, and Star Wars. With the idea being so popular right now, it would make perfect sense for Universal to try its Dark Universe once again. Halloween Horror Nights proves to be Universal’s biggest event each year, and the Classic Monster houses have been some of the most popular in the last few years, proving that there’s an audience for the rebooted horror films – if done correctly.
As studios continue to pump out reboots and remakes, they’ve certainly gained some criticisms and complaints from audiences who want some originality from Hollywood once again. However, it’s possible that Universal attempting to reboot the still popular 1999 Mummy film is what killed it. Rather than adapting the original film for a modern audience, which means keeping the horror elements, the studio decided to remake an adaptation that was already a timeless and semi-original idea. What Universal Pictures should do is go back to the original films, the early twentieth century releases, and adapt them for modern audiences while still keeping the elements and the storyline that made them so unique and horrifying in the first place.
With the amount of excitement and anticipation for Epic Universe already high, it would be the perfect time for Universal to go all-in on its iconic classic monsters. Horror fans are ready if Universal is willing to give it another go.
Do you think Universal should reboot its classic monsters or should they be left alone? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!